With 12 teams having secured their place courtesy of finishing in the top three of their respective pools at this year’s World Cup, the remaining eight places will be determined by a process of regional and cross-regional qualifiers which will begin next year and, for the first time, a stand-alone round-robin repechage tournament to determine the final qualifier in 2018.
Advertisement
It was made a decision to expand tier two union and regional representation on council, executive committee to include independent representatives, women’s advisory committee to be established, new governance model to operate after May 2016 council meeting and reform follows most successful Rugby World Cup to date and wide consultation.
Tew said organizing body SANZAR was confident the Argentinian team which will debut in 2016 will be competitive, but is anxious about the progress the Japan team is making and “nervous” about the strength of new South African team, the Kings.
World Rugby has announced details of the regional qualification process for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
– One Europe/Oceania play-off qualifier: The third place team from the Pacific Tri-Nations will play a home and away play-off with the second-ranked team in the Rugby Europe Championship (excluding Georgia) with the victor on aggregate qualifying for RWC 2019.
The New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew is nervous about the Japanese side’s readiness for next year’s Super Rugby competition.
“They have not announced a coach yet so that is clearly an issue and they have not got a playing roster completely full. So they are the two issues they have to put their foot on the throttle for”.
“They might actually be a considerable worry (to rival teams)”.
None of the three leading Pacific teams – Fiji, Samoa and Tonga – finished in the top three of their pools at the recent World Cup in England, a position that would have assured them of direct entry into the next edition.
“That might just be Japan (but) we’ve got the whole of South America, Asia and the west coast of the United States to consider in terms of long-term future”, he said.
Advertisement
“It’s far too early to start talking definitively about any other countries joining the Rugby Championship in the short term”.
